* WEDNESDAY FERBUARY 12 2003
OPINION
4A - THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1 x 5 A
WEDNESDAY,FEBRUARY 12,2003
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111 Stauffer-Flint
EDITORIAL BOARD
Private funding enhances diversity
Chris Moore for The University Daily Kansan
The University of Kansas needs money to improve education for its students. Budget cuts have ended services jobs of KU faculty and staff
Private funding and donations are an excellent way to bring in new professors and meet the needs of more students.
Last Thursday, Board of Regents member William R. Docking and his wife, Judy, committed to a $1 million donation. The University will use part of this gift to fund a the salary of a new business professor. Chancellor Robert Hemenway said private gifts were needed to attract and retain students and professors. Docking's contribution displayed his awareness of this need.
Private donations are a way for alumni and members of the community to make a positive impact on the University. Education will continue, regardless of the budget. These extra donations ensure that KU students will not miss out on new professors and new perspectives.
Donors have the future of the University in mind and they should be commended.
Meghan Brune for the editorial board
The St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center began collecting donations two years ago after the University agreed to match funds and hire a professor of Catholic thought. St. Lawrence completed its goal in December and pre
sent its gift to the religious studies department. There has not been a professor of Catholic thought since the religious studies department became part of the University in 1977.
In exchange for the donation, the religious studies department will keep an open line of communication with the church. St. Lawrence will not have a vote for the new professor, nor will it develop a curriculum for the professor, because the University is a state institution and law separates the church from the department of religion. The Rev. Vince Krische said St. Lawrence was nappy to help the University in this tight economic period because he wanted to provide educational opportunities for students.
PERSPECTIVE
U.S. culture provides protective 'bubble' that bursts when abroad
Editor's note: Stauffer writes a bi-weekly column about her experiences studying abroad. She is participating in the humanities and Western Civilization program in Florence, Italy, and Paris
COMMENTARY
At first, I thought studying abroad would be like living in a bubble. Without morning National Public Radio, the evening news, and the constant buzz of conversation about U.S. current events, I thought I'd be oblivious and would leave concerns about U.S. conflicts at home.
I was wrong. of course.
In fact, I found I was living in a bubble in Lawrence. While at the University of Kansas, I may have filled my head with facts and watched the talking heads on television yammer on, but all the information I absorbed was from the same bubble — the United States.
Living in Italy has burst that protective shield and opened my eyes. At first, it was strange and difficult to see pace, or peace, flags billowing from windowsills on my walk to class or to hear anti-war talk at
Louise Stauffer
opinion@kansan.com
the table next to me in a café. While out enjoying a glass of wine with friends, it is not uncommon to be asked by a stranger, "What are you?" They don't want to know that I'm a Gemini! They want to know if I'm for or against going to war.
Answering this question can be difficult enough living in Lawrence, but when speaking to a European, it is on an entirely new level. At first, I wanted to be defensive and support my country. It's instinctual, like punching a bully or beating up your little brother.
Now I realize that what I say matters less than how I listen to others. So it clicked with me — it is important to understand how the United State's actions
affect the whole world, and not just my old bubble, the United States. At first I dismissed any Italian critics toward the United States as anti-American and mean. But as an Italian friend named Christian said, Italians are not anti-American, just conflicted. So many of us are.
This makes sense when one realizes how much the actions of the United States affect not just its citizens, but the world. You don't have to live in Florence to burst your bubble. Talk to international students about their feelings about war with Iraq, watch the British Broadcasting Corporation or read an international newspaper. Not only will it open your mind, it will surprise you how closely every other country is watching us and how little we know about them.
As I passed anti-war graffiti this weekend in Rome, I didn't feel angry and defensive as I might have a few weeks ago. Instead, I read the Sunday paper with new eyes — international ones.
Stauffer is a Holland, Mich., junior in journalism and English.
Go to kansan.com and click on the opinion section to check out the weekly online poll. Click on forums to post to the discussion.
THE KANSAN ON-LINE
Opinion Poll What do you think about Valentine's Day?
It's essential to set aside a day for expressing love to a significant other.
The day has been exploited and now serves to benefit capitalism at its worst.
It's just another Friday.
Confront war with eyes wide open
PERSPECTIVI
It's as though I have to make excuses for my country and its people's willingness to believe what is placed in front of them. I constantly make excuses for the negligence of my generation's attitude and interests.
Editor's note: Cullerton writes a biweekly column about her experiences while studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain.
After arriving in the crowded streets of Barcelona, it took only a week to discover experiences and integrate myself in discussions that have undoubtedly challenged my view of patriotism and being American.
We accept scandal because it is everywhere. We are watching the economy fall and we haven't seemed to voice much concern. If war does take place, we will all feel the effects of it. Take responsibility for the actions of our country and the decisions of our government. After all, they are reflections of us.
We are a generation of young Republicans marinating in material possessions and willing to believe what we are told, regardless of the truth. Some believe we are a lost cause. We will get our degrees and find a dehumanizing job, settle down and fall victim to popular opinion.
When we face the threat of a world war, why are we not interested in our future?
If this violation of humanity happened in any other country, people would be in the s.eetrs demanding justice. What did we do in America? We watched it on television while relaxing on a La-Z-Boy sofa, shaking our heads just long enough to realize that prime time started in one minute. Is this living?
What we fail to realize, however, is that our government is beginning to resemble more of a dictatorship than a democracy.
Take the presidential election, for instance. Is it coincidental that George Bush's cousin had the final say in the Florida mix up? Even if it is, have we verbalized our concern for longer than one frustrating night?
I've spoken with people of varied ages
from Sweden, France, Spain and the United States this past week about world politics. Many see George Bush as a domineering moron, incapable of honesty, hungry for power and willing to sacrifice justice for prosperity. People think Americans are a reflection of this reality. Can we blame them? It's starting to look as though patriotism has turned into a fad. There is a company that makes magnetic patriotic bumper stickers. That might suggest that, when it's no longer trendy to love our country, we can easily remove the sticker.
Sure, we have rights, freedom and a voice in the United States. That is why we need to take advantage of being American and express our concerns. I refuse to settle for the injustice we are sprinkling throughout the rest of our world. We are the future, and it's frightening that our interests are limited. Our eyes are closed, and the fresh wounds of war are becoming a blinding reality.
Cuillerton is a Naperville, IL., junior in creative writing.
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Shoutout to all the music majors — keep on rockin'.
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This is to whoever puked in the water fountain on the sixth floor of McCollum: Have some respect for the rest of us that live here and learn how to handle your alcohol.
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My roommate and I just started the Free For All wall, so to everybody that calls in, you don't know it but you're contributing to decorating our room. Thanks a bunch.
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This Wednesday is my girl Barbie's 19th birthday, so I just want to wish her happy birthday.
Kansan writers should write their articles assuming that all their readers have ADD. That way people like me might actually finish reading one of their boring articles.
I figured the real reason we haven't gone to war yet: The Bush sisters want their dad to wait for the U.N. so that they can read "United States heads joint operation in Iraq" in the newspaper headlines.
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This is to the guy in my personality class. You annoy the hell out of me. No one cares about your stupid stories, and your voice is so loud you make me want to leave the room.
This is for the guy who wants the magnet for his weed. What he needs to do is start smoking some better weed.
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Kansas weather sucks.
How come one minus one doesn't equal negative one? I had one dog. My dog died. I am now minus one dog. I rest my case.
B6
I think Hobby Lobby should be renamed H-E-L-L. That place is evil. If that place happens to burn down, don't tell them I did it.
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Gas at an all-time high. The economy at an all-time low. Thanks, Bush.
I just heard the girl on Joe Millionaire say she wanted to be a mercenary in a third-world country. Let's take out Saddam so that the girl on Joe Millionaire can have a chance to fulfill her dream. God bless America.
I'm about ready to strangle the life out of Fox. If they ever try to screw me over like that with Joe Millionaire, I swear to God I'll beat their testicles.
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Wow, the Bush administration pledged $1 billion for renewable energy fuel cell research over the next five years. But wait a minute, they pledged $380 billion for just 2004's war on terrorism. Where are our priorities?
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